Richa | ऋचा | റിച്ച

Cry for Justice for a Nyandarua senior Citizen

"How can we fight injustice when women with psychosocial disabilities are still denied recognition before the law, leaving justice systems structurally and intersectionally inaccessible to us?" TCI raised this question as a floor intervention at the Asia-Pacific Regional Preparatory Meeting on the Seventieth Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW 70), focused on “Ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls, including by promoting inclusive and equitable legal systems, eliminating discriminatory laws, policies, and practices, and addressing structural barriers”. The meeting was jointly convened by UNESCAP and UN Women, in collaboration with UNDP, UNFPA, and UNICEF, bringing together state and non-state actors from across the Asia-Pacific region. During the session, TCI emphasized the need to repeal discriminatory laws and practices and to adopt rights-based, gender-responsive frameworks aligned with the CRPD and CEDAW, ensuring that justice is accessible in law and in practice, free from discrimination, fear and control. Watch TCI’s intervention: youtu.be/_qCR6U4Jn1o?t=… #CSW70 #AccessToJustice #WomenWithDisabilities #PsychosocialDisability #CRPD #CEDAW #AsiaPacific #GenderJustice

As part of the #WhatWENeed 2025 campaign, we are sharing an anonymous blog titled 'Lost Shadows', alongside the author’s own words reflecting on their journey and the meaning behind this piece: Sharing my "Lost Shadows" journey, which is a raw reflection as a person given the label of bipolar disorder. Through this journey, I reclaim my identity beyond labels, honouring pain as a teacher deserving respect. This isn't about 'fixing' but witnessing the human experience with dignity and agency. I invite you to sit with these shadows, recognize psychosocial disabilities as part of diverse human experience, and champion person-centered support that values self-determination over medicalization. Let's build inclusive spaces where mental health narratives are owned by those living them. Click here to read the blog: whatweneed.in/lost-shadows-r… #CommunityInclusion #WhatWENeed #identity #inclusion #TCIGlobal

“My file recorded my name, my age, and a diagnosis. It did not record my life.” For years, Rashida Dange was seen only as a body inside institutions, a woman others decided could not survive outside hospital walls. Her pain, her memories and her desire to live were ignored. What changed her life was not confinement or control, but being listened to and believed. Through Bapu Trust’s Going Home program, Rashida was supported to step beyond the hospital gate... slowly, patiently, and with dignity. She was provided a space to observe, to speak, to be heard, to rebuild daily routines, to care for herself, and to imagine a life in the community again. With consistent support, trust, and accompaniment, she moved from silence to voice, from fear to choice and from institutional life to living independently in the community. This is not just the story of Rashida. It is the lived reality of many persons with psychosocial disabilities who are locked away, disbelieved, and denied the right to belong. It is also a reminder of what is possible when community support systems and support services replace institutional models. 📖 Read this #WhatWENeed submission from Bapu Trust, India: whatweneed.in/my-life-before… #WhatWENeed2025 #CommunityNotCages #EndInstitutionalisation #PsychosocialDisability #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs

As we celebrate 20 years of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, accessibility and reasonable accommodation must remain central to the effective functioning of its monitoring mechanisms. The denial of accessibility and reasonable accommodation to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, including sign language interpretation, captioning, and support for deaf Committee members, constitutes discrimination under the CRPD. These measures place the CRPD Committee in a disadvantaged position compared to other human rights treaty bodies and threaten its ability to function. Without accessibility, the Committee cannot carry out State party reviews, engage with organizations of persons with disabilities, or ensure meaningful participation. TCI stands in solidarity with the CRPD Committee and echoes its call for urgent action to ensure that the upcoming 34th session take place as planned, with full accessibility and reasonable accommodation. Anything less represents institutional discrimination and a serious setback for disability inclusion within the UN system. Click here to read the statement: ohchr.org/sites/default/… Please feel free to disseminate this statement widely in your own networks!

📢​ TCI Global is hosting a learning webinar with its members & stakeholders titled: Inclusive Data and Social Protection Systems for Persons with Psychosocial Disabilities 📅​ Date: 16 October 2025​ 🕚​ Time: 11:00 AM CET​ 🔗​ Register here: bit.ly/4nByJCd

TCI is launching its annual campaign #WhatWENeed 2025: Resisting, Rising, Reimagining! We invite our members and our global community to share your submissions. Send your submissions to secretariat@tci-global.org For more information: whatweneed.in/campaign-2025/

TCI is participating at the CoSP18 to the CRPD from June 10–12 at the UN Headquarters in New York, with a Civil Society Forum on June 9. We’re also engaging at several key side events. For more information on TCI engagements at COSP 18: tci-global.org/tci-at-18th-co…

Liberation is launching its #RightsNOTRisk advocacy campaign! Liberation,UK-based OPD has been leading a powerful campaign demanding a fundamental rethink of forthcoming UK Mental Health Bill 2025 to align it with CRPD. For more information: docs.google.com/document/d/1na…

🚨 HAPPENING TOMORROW 🗓️ 20 May, 11:00 to 12:00 CET, Online We will discuss: 🔹The CRPD Review of the EU 🔹 An EU Budget to fight segregation 🔹 Defending legal capacity and inclusive public funding 👉 Sign up: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regist… #CRPD #IndependentLiving

In Japanese, "tsundoku" means collecting books and letting them pile up, not for neglect, but for the joy of knowing they're there, full of untold stories.

The North Sea, by Patrick von Kalckreuth (1955)

©Akira Kusaka

Here’s to surviving 2024, cheers 🥂

since early this morning, my niece has been studying diligently because someone at her school told her that if she reads today, she will remember everything she has read this entire year for the rest of her life

Art by Victoria Villasana #giselepelicot

café au lait ☕️

Gisèle Pelicot graces the cover of vogue germany, on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

so much of adulthood is just grieving in secret. grieving ex lovers, grieving dead friendships, grieving your parents sinking into old age, grieving the person you thought you'd grow into. grieving cities you never got to live in. grieving parts of you that couldn't survive.